


One on One

by CelticGHardy



Category: Common Law, The Following
Genre: Community: hc_bingo, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-05 00:24:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1087399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticGHardy/pseuds/CelticGHardy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was her work with Wes and Travis that got their attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One on One

It was her work with Wesley and Travis that lead the FBI to contact her to talk to this agent. She read the report that those around him had put together. The events that had happened to the agent sounded outlandish, but she didn't doubt that it happened. Listening to some of the things that the partners had pulled during their reign at the LAPD allowed her other patients to believe law enforcement used interesting methods to capture criminals.

From the reports, it looked like he should have been pulled off active duty as soon as the death of his partner occurred. The entire case, however, proved it to be a desperate situation, where they needed everyone with possible insight to the case to stay on. Even after a shooting, a kidnapping and other events, no one thought to stop the agent from continuing. It was only after Joe Carroll's death that the agent was pulled off duty, but not before another death of a fellow agent.

The death of a partner was one of the hardest things that can happen to someone, romantically or work related. Paekman weighed on both Wes's and Travis's minds and she worked with them when they finally started going back over the memories of the man.

The room that they had sequestered the young agent was meant to be calming, used for victims and witnesses of crimes they had to question. The young man was agitated when she walked in. “Hello,” she greeted, “My name is Doctor Ryan.”

“My name's already on the paperwork,” he retorted.

This wasn't going to go well. “Introduce yourself, anyway. I do not think you go by your full name.”

He fixated on a pencil left behind by someone. “Mike Weston. Just call me Mike.”

-

She had become adapt to partners of business and personal and working them back together. A single person that she was suppose to open up was going to be more complicated. 

The first session wasn't a complete fail. She managed to get him to talk within the last five minutes. She had been talking about getting a dog with her husband. He brought up arguments and ideas, showed her a picture of his. It played up a small amount of actual happiness instead of something faked or forced.

Realizing she needed to pick subjects he would talk about before rounding it back, her next session was asking about his first days within the FBI. That led to Troy.

“He.... he complained about getting the new youngest guy,” Mike remembered, “I made two mistakes and he thought I should have been sent back to protective detail for more experience. And then we had this case and everybody thought the killer was black but I had the feeling he was white. Troy didn't get it, but he went along with it and we ended up getting the right person behind our boss' back. He berated us, then congratulated us.”

“He was a good partner?”

“Yeah, he,” he agreed, “He was a friend. One of the only ones I had because a lot of the other agents didn't want to hang out with the young kid.”

She considered it her first breakthrough. Using Troy as a basis, she managed to get stories about other cases the two had worked on. After another session, she carefully led him into Joe Carroll. “So, you were brought into the case due to your thesis on Joe Carroll?” she inquired.

He nodded, “Yeah. I thought it was an honor. Everyone still treated me as a probationary officer and I couldn't get anyone to listen to me. I thought this would change their views.”

“Did it?”

“Riley knew I always had good ideas. The others didn't take much thought into me. Ryan,” he paused, playing with the left over pencil again, “He thought of me as some rookie at first as well. I tried reaching out to him, coming up with theories, ideas. He ignored most of it. After Troy's death and Jenny Hardy's kidnapping, he started listening, paying more attention. He even....” He paused for a minute. “He even stayed in the hospital after my attack. I woke up to him snoring in the hospital chair.”

Interesting, they had apparently bonded during the case. So why wasn't the other man here? “When was the last time you spoke to Ryan?”

“Same time as I saw him. Parker's funeral. He's moved on with his life and I'm just a bad reminder of all the bad stuff,” he shrugged.

Effectively, the doctor saw that he had been left alone after all the events that happened. Alone to ponder and think poisonous thoughts that crept up. Perhaps, she could arrange a meeting between the two. It may be beneficial.

**Author's Note:**

> It's a start for Mike's problems.
> 
> Title is unoriginal because I can't think of anything.


End file.
